French niche line Lubin has launched Black Jade, a new fragrance for women:
Marie Antoinette, the infamous young queen of France -- initially loved by the people for her charm and beauty, she became an international symbol of decadent luxury. Naturally her court had a royal perfumer, Jean-Louis Fargeon, and, naturally, he created an opulent, no-expenses-spared fragrance exclusively for her. Inspired by her rose-filled garden at Le Petit Trianon, this mysterious concoction was kept in a black jade flask which the queen kept with her at all times. Luckily for us, the perfumer had a young apprentice, Pierre Lubin, who paid closer attention to the formula for this elixir than perhaps he should have. Known in the House of Lubin for years as “jardin secret”, the formula has been newly revived with the help of one of Marie’s black jade bottles that had been hidden away by a confidante.
The notes include galbanum, bergamot, cardamom, rose, jasmine, incense, cinnamon, sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, tonka bean and amber.
Lubin Black Jade can be found now at Luckyscent, in 50 ($130) or 100 ($160) ml Eau de Parfum. (via luckyscent)
On Lucky-Scent, this is announcement was listed as a Bastille Day special- how ironic, since Bastille Day celebrates the popular uprising which ultimately led to the death of Marie Antoinette.
The Queen’s taste for luxuries are not what led to the budget and tax crises (which in turn led to the Revolution). It was the King’s taste for sponsoring overseas wars, and distaste (and lack of policitcal support) for raising taxes to pay for them. Hmm… what did I see on last night’s news which brought that bit of history to mind.
Historical accuracy & perfume don’t mix very often
Hence the reason I’m DYING to sample “Sillage de la Reine.” But, at $900 for 25 ml, something tells me I’ll have to settle for a whiff and possible 50 ml of this.
Perhaps the Bastille Day association is apt – in the Secret of Scent, Luca Turin claims that it was Marie Antoinette’s perfume, a scent that belonged only to her, that gave her away as she fled the palace in disguise.
This is the sort of blah blah blah that Creed usually trots out; royal this, secret that, but the scent could sounds nice, with the cardamom and incense. And the bottle is great. I have Gin Fizz and it comes in the same bottle design and I love it (and the scent).
How does Gin Fizz last on you? I bought a bottle and was terribly disappointed. I can drench myself in the juice, but after about ten minutes, I can’t smell it anymore. So sad, because I love the scent.
I’m not a fan of Gin Fizz, which smells too much like… a Gin Fizz to me. However I have Itasca by Lubin, which lasts forever on my skin and is lovely.
It needs heavy spraying, you are right about that. I actually took out the bottle to admire it after reading about Jade, and put some on (and then some more, and then a few extra sprays, just to make sure the whole arm was wet). That’s a couple of hours ago, and I can still smell it, but it’s fading fast. It’s more of a cologne, I think, and ideally it should have come in a splash bottle. My advice is to be even more shameless when you apply it: If “drenched” doesn’t cut it, go for “soaked”. Hope you have the 100 ml bottle
It is, isn’t it? But if the scent is nice, I won’t care.
Hmmmm…. First, I would like to sample it because the notes sound like something I would be interested.
The print copy though… First off, having read “A Scented Palace,” Fargeon made MANY different products for her, from scented fans, gloves, pomades, lotions, potions, hair products, cosmetics, fashion accessories, etc, not just regular bottled perfume. Second, if they’re talking about his being a recreation of the perfume inspired by her garden at the Petite Trianon, then it is probably going for being a recreation/dupe of the actual “Parfum du Trianon.” If that’s the case, where is the tuberose? That was one of the main notes that main notes that Antoinette requested because she loved them so much and he had to be especially cautious adding it to the juice?
It does sound pretty. So far, Idole is the only Lubin I’ve really loved.
Is it just me, or does that bottle look like a light bulb? The notes do sound interesting, though, and I think a sample is in order.